ASU LEARNING: Freshmen to head to university

New students will gather on campus for orientation events

SAN ANGELO, Texas - Hundreds of incoming freshmen and their families and friends will pour onto the Angelo State University campus Friday and Saturday for new student orientation sessions as they make final preparations for the fall semester.

The new student orientation program has replaced the previous student orientation, advising and registration, or SOAR, program. It has been revised and streamlined to improve what for most of the new freshmen will be their first real campus experience.

"Orientation encompasses everyone," said Heather Valle Brown, assistant director of student life. "Athletics is there to welcome their new athletes. Deans are there to support their colleges and their teams. The vice presidents are not there just to make sure things are running well, they are there because they love to welcome new members to our ASU family. It's a family day. We all come out to support our new students."

Each NSO session begins with an official welcome by ASU administrators, followed by information sessions about building a course schedule, financial aid, and health and safety on campus. Another main feature is discussion sessions with student NSO leaders about recreational activities, student life, the Multicultural Center, and the importance of academic advising.

"In the past the orientation leader team has been used as ushers or greeters, handing out packets," Valle Brown said. "The past couple of years, I've really worked to increase the orientation leader role. We've created Ram to Ram, a small group session with the orientation leaders talking about judgment-based decision-making and doing ice breakers and team-building activities."

The orientation leaders also focus on ASU spirit and traditions, building on the new Ram Fam spirit organization that launched during the last academic year.

"San Angelo has a lot to be proud of with our institution, and we want to start our first-year students out knowing those traditions," Valle Brown said. "They do that during our Ram to Ram sessions."

In addition to sessions for the incoming freshmen, NSO also includes opportunities for their families and friends to meet with families of current ASU students.

"Part of the process is they can bring up to three guests," Valle Brown said. "So that way their family members are welcome, as well as their best friend, their coach, their mentor or whoever it is who matters to them that they would like to go through orientation with."

Nancy Allen, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Javier Flores, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, also give pointers on how to successfully become a collegiate family.

Technology also has become more prevalent for the NSO program as its details are now included on ASU's MyFuture.com admissions website.

"We're really appreciative of the work of the admissions office," said Clint Havins, director of student life. "They created that MyFuture website, and it's one way they communicate with prospective students. Because those students are accustomed to using that website, we worked with the admissions team and the student accounts office to integrate the NSO registration form into the website. In addition, all pre-event communication for NSO was incorporated into the overall communication plans for admitted students."

"We are working to build campus partnerships," he continued. "We feel like it provides a better product to the students."

NSO is also on Twitter.

"Using social media is not just because it's trendy," Valle Brown said. "It's because that's how we need to communicate. This generation is not always checking email, and they're not the first to respond to a phone call. What they do is Instagram and Twitter. So we created these accounts, and that's already what they're doing on their phones. It's their preferred communication."

On Twitter, students can follow @ASUorientation or use #ASUNSO2013 to communicate.

"We're tracking, even throughout the NSO days, all kinds of information from the participants," Valle Brown said. "I use that media throughout the day with things like ‘Find me at this location and get a free T-shirt' or ‘If you have questions after you leave, use #ASUNSO2013 and we'll answer those questions for you.' "

About 700 students accompanied by about 1,000 family members and friends attended this year's first two NSO sessions in June, and about that many more are expected this weekend.

"We've done a lot this year to take a stronger, holistic approach to orientation," Valle Brown said. "I think it's a great way to start out orientation because it's indicative of ASU. ASU works so hard to make sure students feel comfortable here and that they know they're in the right place. We want that message sent on Day One, at new student orientation."

Laurel Scott is a news and information specialist in the ASU Office of Communications and Marketing.